Lightweight 3D-Printed Fractal Gradient-Index Lens Antenna with Stable Gain Performance

Abstract

This paper proposes a millimeter-wave lens antenna using 3-dimensional (3D) printing technology to reduce weight and provide stable gain performance. The antenna consists of a four-layer cylindrical gradient-index (GRIN) lens fed by a wideband Yagi antenna. We designed a fractal cell geometry to achieve the desired effective permittivity for a GRIN lens. Among different candidates, the honeycomb structure is chosen to provide high mechanical strength with light weight, low dielectric loss, and lens dispersion for a lens antenna. Therefore, the measured peak gain was relatively flat at 16.86 ± 0.5 dBi within 25−31.5 GHz, corresponding to 1 dB gain bandwidth = 23%. The proposed 3D-printed GRIN lens is cost-effective, with rapid and easy manufacturing.